Im gonna be taking my 629 hunting this year but I am in need of sugestions for bullet type to use? HP or soft point or full lead, first time taking a handgun hunting just wondering what to use. I reload so I can get the accuracy down before hunting season. Thanks in advance.

Soft point or hardcast lead. Never hollowpoints for hunting. Especially for handguns. Hollow points are designed to stop inside the target. Hunting animals you want a hole going through both sides. Deer are pretty tough critters, thick hide big bones and lots of muscle in between.

Hollow points are barely adequate for most self defense purposes due to their very shallow penetration characteristics

__________________
"Gun control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound." — L. Neil Smith

The problem with being stupid is you cannot simply decide to stop doing dumb things...

Soft point or hardcast lead. Never hollowpoints for hunting. Especially for handguns. Hollow points are designed to stop inside the target. Hunting animals you want a hole going through both sides. Deer are pretty tough critters, thick hide big bones and lots of muscle in between.

Hollow points are barely adequate for most self defense purposes due to their very shallow penetration characteristics

I'll back Jon up on this one. My brother took a deer with a .44 caliber. The deer was dropped by a spine hit but was dying slowly. He finished it off with 2 to the head.

Any bullet suggestions? Im thinking 240gr unless another weight works better, but not sure on a particular brand of bullet. I know any bullet will kill. But I want the best odds that if placement is good, for a clean kill.

NEVER use a hardcast for thin skinned game . Deer are thin skinned. A lung shot could allowa deer to run a 1/2 mile. Any 240gr hp , sp or mid hardness lead gas checked swc or swc-hp will do. Those that say they have thick skin and heavy bone have not hunted deer with handgun cartidges.

fupuk Deer are not tought thick skinned animals with massive bones. They are thin skinned and easy to kill. Most any 240gr hp or sp, work well. I like speer bonded gd and nosler and have experience with then . I have killed deer with a speer 170gr sp in a 357 on deer. IT WORKS WELL with pass thru shoots not a problem. On 44m mag just stay with a 240gr hp or sp and all will be fine. I have used a 240gr nosler soft point at 1498fps from a dw 8" revolver for a couple deer. One shot at all of 25 feet one at 75 yards. That was a front on shot. Penetration is not an issue and that bullet expansion was real good. It was a front to rear shot found after 40" of tissue and bone damage . Upsets well in deer yet can still punch on thru large deer. The other was a quatering to me. Bullet went thru the shoulder at the joint down and across the deer and out behind the off shoulder. Just make smart shots. You could buy a box of Remington express 44mag ammo and harvest deer at normal bow ranges. The bullets are more than needed just a little slow.

You can not expect a deer to died from a spine shot quickly even from a larger magnum rifle shot. It blow about a 4" hole out of the spine of a big doe at 200 yards with a 7mm rem mag and it was still alive till I got to it. Hate it but it happens.

i strongly disagree with the above. hollow points are bad mojo on game animals.

deformation of the bullet is not needed for it to be effective. shot placement and penetration of the vitals is what is important.

in terms of handguns, even 44magnum, deer are thick skinned game. in terms of rifle powerd firearms they are thin skinned. this changes abit when that 44 round is coming out of a carbine like a ruger 44 carbine or similar 16"+ barrels.

with revolvers you shouldnt use bullets larger than 240 grains or issues with the bullet locking up the cylinder can occur due to excessive length.

__________________
"Gun control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound." — L. Neil Smith

The problem with being stupid is you cannot simply decide to stop doing dumb things...

Soft point or hardcast lead. Never hollowpoints for hunting. Especially for handguns. Hollow points are designed to stop inside the target. Hunting animals you want a hole going through both sides. Deer are pretty tough critters, thick hide big bones and lots of muscle in between.

Hollow points are barely adequate for most self defense purposes due to their very shallow penetration characteristics

Why is it you want a hole in both sides? To help the animal bleed out? For a better blood trail to follow? Pass through is a waste of energy, that shouldve been put into the animal. Hydrostatic shock from the bullets energy transfered into the animal will kill quicker and more efficiently than bleed out.
I have used 300g XTPs ahead of 17.5g of 2400 with the only issue of over penetration. You just cant stop it, so it wastes alot of its energy. I prefer the 185g XTP with a max charge. Usually still goes thru, but not always. But it has transfered nearly ALL its energy into the deer, completely disrupting and pulverizing its innards. They just flip over and lay there. Dead.
Yes, its a hollowpoint, from a pistol. But the XTP is a well made bullet that stays together, and expands to nearly 3/4".
The deer around here dont wear sheet metal, just a fairly light hide. Granted the bones arent exactly soft, but theyre no match for a .44 mag with even a decently constructed bullet.

In general, I will agree with you a jacketed hollow point handgun bullet does not perform well in hunting applications; however there are exceptions, the XPB is and excellent bullet I have used in hunting loaded in both .357 Mag and .35 Remington loads. Good weight retention and large exit wounds. Also the Busters are great for a monolithic bullet.